The corridor runs 156 miles (251 km) from Vancouver,
British Columbia south to Seattle, Washington, continuing 310 miles
(499 km) south via Portland, Oregon to Eugene, Oregon.
Two daily trains travel to and from Vancouver, with Seattle or
Portland as its starting or ending point; supplemental Thruway
Motorcoach service connects travelers from Vancouver,
BC to trains heading south from Seattle, as well as providing
additional service between Portland and Eugene, and connections to
other Amtrak Thruway destinations in Washington and Oregon. The
second daily service between Seattle and Vancouver, BC started on
August 19, 2009.[2] Two
daily trains run between Portland and Seattle, one daily train runs
from Eugene to Portland, and one daily train runs from Eugene to
Seattle.[3] This
scattered schedule makes the Cascades unusual. Amtrak is
considering adding one daily train from Eugene to Vancouver,
end-to-end.

Total ridership for 2008 was 774,421, the highest annual
ridership since inception of the service in 1993.[4]

History

The Amtrak Cascades route is an outgrowth of the original routes
between Portland, Seattle, and Vancouver, BC. Originally operated
as a joint partnership by the Northern Pacific,
Great
Northern, and Union Pacific, this route has evolved to
become one of Amtrak's most popular.

When Amtrak started in 1971, there were three trains running
between Seattle and Portland; the connection to Vancouver was
discontinued upon Amtrak's founding. These three trains were
unnamed at first, but with the advent of Amtrak's first "official"
timetable in November 1971, one became the Coast
Starlight, while the other two became the Mount
Ranier and Puget Sound.[5]

1972 brought the return of the Vancouver service, with the
inauguration of the Pacific International. It always was a
small train, though for a time it had one of the most unusual
consists in the Amtrak system, carrying one of the few observation
cars that Amtrak operated.[6]

The corridor grew in 1980 with Oregon sponsoring two daily round
trips between Portland and Eugene. Named the Willamette
Valley, these trains were ultimately unsuccessful and were
discontinued in April 1982. This was on the heels of the
Pacific International's discontinuance in September
1981.[5]

By the 1990s, the Portland-Seattle corridor was on shaky ground,
with only a single round trip supplementing the Coast Starlight.
But, with a change in attitudes toward Amtrak, in 1993 Oregon and
Washington began Cascades service begins with a single
daily round trip between Seattle and Portland. A second train was
added in 1994. And, in 1995 the Vancouver connection was brought
back (originally called the Mount Baker International),
along with Oregon helping out to extend one train to Eugene again.
The corridor grew with a third Seattle-Portland train in 1998, and
a second train to Eugene in 2000.

The corridor has continued to grow in recent years, with another
Portland-Seattle train arriving in 2006, and the long-awaited
through service between Vancouver and Portland, eliminating the
need to transfer in Seattle, beginning in August 2009.

Equipment

The Amtrak Cascades is a unique train painted in a
special scheme. The train is normally
operated in a push-pull configuration with an EMD
F59PHI at one end, and an unpowered EMD F40PH locomotive called a Non-Powered
Control Unit (NPCU) on the other end. The NPCU contains a cement
weight to meet FRA weight requirements
for collision safety. The NPCU units also serve to meet Federal
Railroad Administration regulations for crash safety for the Talgo
cars, which are not FRA crash-rated.

The NPCUs in Cascades service are different from those Amtrak
has converted in the past. Earlier versions, operating in several
other Amtrak corridors, are sometimes called “cabbage
cars” because they serve as both a cab control car and a
baggage car. In "cabbage cars", the engine of the locomotive is
removed and the empty space is utilized as baggage space, with
roll-up baggage doors in the carbody sides. The Cascades NPCUs have
some baggage room features, but since the TALGO sets include a
baggage car, the NPCUs in Cascades service retain their original
engine-access doors. Unusually, the TALGO baggage cars feature
hooks for roll-on bicycle transport; most other Amtrak services
require bicycles to be boxed.

This stripped locomotive still contains controls in the cab so
it can be used as a cab control car when the train is going
northbound, and the powered F59PHI becomes a pusher from the rear.
When traveling south the train is operated from the cab of the
powered F59PHI. The NPCUs have five-digit numbers (i.e., #90253)
rather than the powered F59PHI’s three-digit numbers. Each NPCU's
number directly corresponds to its number when it had its prime
mover, in that the previous number had the prefix 90- added to it
when the F40PH was de-motored. The F59PHI's assigned to Cascades
service are numbers 465-470.

The passenger cars themselves are produced by Talgo, the only cars by that company in operation
in the United States. These cars are designed to passively tilt into curves,
allowing the train to pass through them at higher speeds. Despite a
maximum design speed of 124 mph (200 km/h), current track
and safety requirements limit the train's speed to 79 mph
(127 km/h), although future plans for the Cascades
route may allow them to operate at up to 110 mph
(176 km/h).

The Talgo trainset is articulated – each passenger car in
the Talgo set shares a single pair of wheels with the next, such
that they cannot be uncoupled without lifting one car onto a
support. This design can also reduce jackknife in a derailment.

One of the five sets currently in service, the Mt. Adams set was
originally built as a demonstrator and for potential service
between Los Angeles, California and Las Vegas, Nevada. This was
built with two additional standard coaches, for a total of 14 cars.
It operated on the Seattle-Vancouver, B.C. run for several years in
its original configuration. It was also originally painted in a
different color scheme, using blue, black and silver instead of the
green, brown and cream found on the other sets.

A six-car spare set, including a baggage car, service car,
lounge-dining car, cafe car and two standard coaches, was also
built. The two additional coaches from the fifth trainset and the
two coaches from the spare set were placed in service on four of
the other sets, resulting in four 13-car trains and one 12-car
train.

The fins on the baggage and service cars serve only as an
aesthetic transition from the high top of the American-built
locomotives to the roof of the low-slung European-designed
passenger cars.

During the Thanksgiving (U.S.) holiday period in late November,
extra Cascades trains are operated. These normally use conventional
single-level coaches and cafe cars from the Amtrak fleet, but can
also use bi-level Superliner cars if they are
available. When a TALGO set is out of service for maintenance or
repair, a train of conventional cars is substituted, usually on the
Seattle-Vancouver, B.C. train, leaving the available TALGO sets for
the services between Bellingham and Eugene.

In August 2007, a problem involving a crack in a suspension arm
assembly between two cars of a TALGO trainset resulted in Amtrak
and Washington DOT temporarily pulling all the sets from service.
The agencies replaced them with standard single-level Amfleet- and Horizon-series
coaches and food service cars.

Because the conventional rolling stock did not have the tilting
features found on the TALGO sets, runs were lengthened by 30
minutes, resulting in four-hour schedules between Seattle and
Portland. Amtrak returned the remaining sets to service over
several weeks starting in late September 2007, with the final set
returning around October 21. Amtrak resumed its regular Cascades
service pattern with its October 29, 2007 Fall schedule change.

Funding

Funding for the route is provided separately by the states of Oregon and Washington, with Union Station in Portland
serving as the dividing point between the two. As of July 1, 2006,
Washington state has funded four daily round trips between Seattle
and Portland. Washington also funds two daily round trips between
Seattle and Vancouver, BC. Oregon funds two daily round trips
between Eugene and Portland. The five trainsets are organized into
semi-regular operating cycles, but no particular train always has
one route.

Local
partnerships

As a result of Cascades service being jointly funded by
the Washington and Oregon departments of transportation, public
transit agencies and local municipalities can offer a variety of
discounts, including companion ticket coupons.

FlexPass and University of Washington UPass
holders receive a 15% discount (discount code varies) on all
regular Cascades travel. Employers participating in these
programs may also receive a limited number of free companion ticket
coupons for distribution to employees.

The Sound
Transit RailPlus program allows riders to use weekday
Cascades trains between Everett and Seattle with the Sounder commuter rail fare structure.

The Chinook Book coupon book offers a companion ticket coupon
which does not require any particular origination/destination, and
is valid until November 30, 2009. The Chinook Book costs between
$15 and $20.

The Cascades service also benefits from Sound Transit's
track upgrades for Sounder service, notably the upcoming Point Defiance
Bypass project.

Future
plans

According to its long-range plan, the WSDOT Rail Office plans eventual service of 13
daily round trips between Seattle and Portland and 4-6 round trips
between Seattle and Bellingham, with four of those extending to
Vancouver, BC.[7]
Amtrak Cascades travels along the entirety of the proposed Pacific
Northwest High Speed Rail Corridor; the incremental improvements
are designed to result in eventual high speed service.

The eventual high speed rail service is planned to result in the
following travel times:

Seattle to Portland – 3:30 (2006); 2:30 (planned)

Seattle to Vancouver BC – 3:55 (2006); 2:45 (planned)

Vancouver BC to Portland – 7:55 (2009); 5:25 (planned)

In order to increase train speeds and frequency to meet these
goals, a number of incremental track improvement projects must be
completed. Gates and signals must be improved, some grade crossings
must be separated, some track must be replaced or upgraded and
station capacities must be increased. In order to extend the second
daily Seattle to Bellingham round trip to Vancouver, BNSF must make
track improvements in Canada, to which the government of British
Columbia has been asked to contribute financially. On March 1,
2007, an agreement between the province, Amtrak, and BNSF was reached
that will allow a second daily train to and from Vancouver.[8] The
project will entail the construction of an 11,000-foot
(3.35 km) siding in Delta, BC at a cost of US$7 million;
construction started in mid-2007 and now has been completed.

In December 2008, WSDOT published a mid-range plan detailing
projects needed to achieve the midpoint level of service proposed
in the long-range plan.[9]
WSDOT is applying for $900 million in high speed rail stimulus
funds for projects discussed in the mid-range plan, since the
corridor is one of the approved high speed corridors eligible for
money from ARRA.[10]
Depending on federal grant awards, the timetable of any of the
following projects may speed up.

Additionally, in summer 2009, Oregon applied for a $2.1 billion
Federal grant to redevelop the unused Oregon Electric Railway tracks,
parallel to the Cascades' route between Eugene and Portland, to
enable more passenger trains and higher speeds.[11]

Vancouver to Seattle
projects

Swift
Customs Facility

Adds a siding to allow freight trains to move off
the mainline for Customs inspections; increases reliability for
Vancouver to Seattle trains.

Construction began in July 2008 and was completed in October
2009[12].

Bellingham
Waterfront Redevelopment Project

Relocates 0.75 miles of BNSF track to avoid the current sharp
curve.

Would increase passenger train speeds above 30 mph.

Not yet fully funded.

Construction is scheduled in the 2009-2011 biennium.

Mt.
Vernon siding upgrade

Adds a siding to allow southbound trains from
Bellingham to pass northbound trains from Seattle; allows for
earlier southbound departure.

Closes the grade crossing at Hickox Road.

Construction began in March 2005; siding upgrade is completed
but siding extension is delayed until 2008.

Stanwood siding
upgrade/repair

Lengthens and repairs siding to ensure
freight trains are accommodated; increases reliability for
Vancouver and Bellingham to Seattle trains.

Construction began in February 2008 with and is now
completed.

Everett PA
Junction and Delta Yard Realignment

Realigns sharp curves to increase passenger train speeds from
30 mph to 50 mph, resulting in a two minute time savings
to Bellingham and Vancouver.

Upgrades warning and crossing equipment to improve safety for
pedestrians and vehicles at Pacific/Chestnut crossing and Railroad
Avenue crossing.

Construction is delayed.

King Street Station
track improvements

Allows more trains to access the station at one time.

Prevents passenger trains traveling between the service yard
and the station from having to cross the mainlines.

Construction began in October 2006 with expected completion in
Winter 2011.

Seattle to Portland
projects

With these three projects, WSDOT projects to have an additional
two round trips added daily between Portland and Seattle.[13]

Point
Defiance Bypass

Increases train speeds in this corridor with a straighter track
alignment.

Eliminates the need for Cascades trains to use the
single-track Nelson Bennett Tunnel, although Coast Starlight
trains will likely continue to use the coastal alignment due to the
steep grade from Tacoma to Lakewood.

First phase decreases travel time through the corridor by 6
minutes; second phase decreases travel time by at least another 5
minutes.

Sound Transit construction was
originally scheduled to be complete in late 2007 or early 2008, but
was delayed in order to grade separate the crossing of South Tacoma
Way. Funding for WSDOT's portion of the project has been moved
forward by four years to 2007 so their construction may coincide
with Sound Transit's. After these and other delays, collaborated
construction is currently scheduled to begin in June 2009 with an
anticipated completion date sometime in 2019.

Kelso-Martin's Bluff Rail
Project

Constructs a third mainline from Kelso to Martin's Bluff,
allowing for more frequent passenger service.

Upgrades warning and signal equipment at four crossings,
improving safety for vehicles and pedestrians.

Construction is scheduled to begin around 2017 with an
anticipated completion date in 2021.